Joe Flacco: I didn’t sign last year because I thought I was worth more

Posted by Michael David Smith on March 4, 2013, 3:21 PM EDT

AP

Upon officially signing his six-year, $120.6 million contract with the Ravens today, quarterback Joe Flacco said the reason he didn’t accept the Ravens’ long-term contract offer before the season was simple: He didn’t think they were offering him enough money.

“I thought I was worth more and I didn’t see any circumstances where I wouldn’t get paid more than what they were willing to give me at that point,” Flacco said.

As it turned out, Flacco bet on himself and won, and he said the reason he could bet on himself was all about his confidence, not only in himself but in what the Ravens would do as a team in the 2012 season.

“I figured play one more year, see what we can do as a football team, have confidence in myself, have confidence in the guys around me and let it play itself out from there,” Flacco said.

Flacco said that if winning the Super Bowl MVP award was what it took to get Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti to give him the NFL’s biggest contract, then that’s what he was happy to do.

“It makes it a little easier for Steve to reach into his pockets when we’ve just won the Super Bowl,” Flacco said. “That was my feeling all along.”

101 responses to “Joe Flacco: I didn’t sign last year because I thought I was worth more”

In 5 years we’ll be looking back at this along with the JaMarcus contract as the worst of all time. I guarantee you all 32 GMs would take any of the four guys who played thier FIRST year this year (Kaepernick, Luck, RGIII, RW3) ahead of Flacco. Flacco is Brad Johnson reincarnated.

I like Flacco but to group him with Brees, Peyton, Brady or even Matt Ryan is ridiculous.. above average QB who won a superbowl just like Eli Manning did, with a team effort. In no way is this guy elite and in NO way should he be getting money comparable to the top quarterbacks in the league. I think this sets the Ravens back extremely far and they don’t contend for awhile. This is a contract that has extreme bust potential.

What is it with this website & their obsession over Flacco the past couple of weeks? Ok he signed a new deal we don’t need to fawn over every time he breathes air PFT.. Report on the upcoming FA period please.. Anything than this love fest for Flacco it’s disgusting!

These quotes are what makes me dislike Flacco strongly. So you’ll be totally cool with it if you aren’t performing like the leagues highest paid QB, for Steve to put a little money back into his pockets right? Hope you are cool with accounting for 1/6th of your teams cap space…Also hope you are cool with that one Super Bowl ring too.

Ahahaha. Nice QB baltimorons! All about himself! You overpaid for a middle tier Qb. Can’t wait to watch this team’s demise! Terriblefront office! You can tell this isn’t an awesome Rooney run organization! It’s fun to laugh at the bottom teams in the league. 6 Lombardis gives us that right!

Well played, Mr. Flacco, in what may be the most appropriate “well-played” ever.
Offered big bucks, turns it down because he believes he’s worth more (and despite the fact that virtually NO ONE else believed he was worth more), then go out and earn it.

I like Flacco but to group him with Brees, Peyton, Brady or even Matt Ryan is ridiculous.. above average QB who won a superbowl just like Eli Manning did, with a team effort. In no way is this guy elite and in NO way should he be getting money superior to the top quarterbacks in the league. I think this sets the Ravens back extremely far and they don’t contend for awhile. This is a contract that has too much bust potential.

Any reporter there ask Joe about that 4th year? Clearly the Ravens aren’t expecting much more from him. I bet they draft a QB this year. When I watch Flacco play he looks like he’s a guy who has hit his ceiling already.

I’m so tired of hearing about what these guys make. Is there really a huge market out there that wants to know exactly how much football players are making? Is anyone really shocked when one guy’s posturing gets him the biggest payday in NFL history? Every single year, there’s going to be a new biggest contract in the NFL. Meanwhile, I’m hoping to get a 15 cent raise at work when my evaluation comes up.

Flacco may not YET be Brees, Peyton or Brady, but I would take Joe Cool over Matt Ryan any day. Look at the results – 5 years in playoffs with playoff wins every year, 3 years in AFC Championship and a Super Bowl victory. WTF has Matt Ryan acheived? 1 playoff win in 5 years. Haha. Man its great being a Ravens fan!

haha enjoy these next 6 years Ravens! you’ll be lucky to sniff the playoffs with this bum eating up all your cap space. If the Denver safety is back where hes supposed to be, you’re eliminated. But now you think you have your “savior” and just paid him WAY too much money. HA!

Show me a quarterback who didn’t win a SuperBowl without a team effort.

Regarding Peyton Manning, who had good solid teammates when he played for the Colts… how many rings does he have? How many playoff wins?

Like Cam Newton, Manning puts up sweet individual numbers, but he lacks something in the spine when big games arrive. Flaco may not have Manning’s numbers, but I’d take him as my quarterback any day of the week over Peyton. And I don’t even like Baltimore.

What I haven’t seen anyone mention is that in 2 years, this deal is going to look better and better, by the nature of the business QB deals are just going to keep getting higher and higher. Rodgers will get his 21 mil next season, Soon enough Flacco will have a top 8 contract, not the highest, which is where he belongs.This contract protects the Ravens from spending more the next six years and eventually pays Flacco exactly what hes worth.

I know I am not objective as a Ravens fan, but you have to admire his guts. Everyone busts on him for how he played and obviously he wasn’t listening to any of you who were doubters. He rolled the dice on himself and won. And won as big as it gets!

I am realistic. Joe may not be better than Brees, Manning, Brady, Rogers, etc. But everyone needs to relax…the contract size is a factor of timing. But to compare his contract to Jemarcus Russell??? That is simply stupid.

It will be interesting, with no more Cam Cameron, will we see a better Joe or an inconsistent one. I’m betting on a better Joe.

“In 5 years we’ll be looking back at this along with the JaMarcus contract as the worst of all time. I guarantee you all 32 GMs would take any of the four guys who played thier FIRST year this year (Kaepernick, Luck, RGIII, RW3) ahead of Flacco. Flacco is Brad Johnson reincarnated.”

Always bet on yourself. He did and won, and with a low cap number for 3 years he still is giving the team some help on the $$ end. Why all the vitriol? Did he not just put up a performance for the ages? Was he not just a Lee Evans gaffe away from going to back to back SBs? Fantasy football has generated huge amounts of $$ for the NFL, but it has made fans borderline idiots in reference to who’s good and who’s not. To quote Herm Edwards: “You play to WIN the game!”

“I like Flacco but to group him with Brees, Peyton, Brady or even Matt Ryan is ridiculous.. above average QB who won a superbowl just like Eli Manning did, with a team effort.”

LOL..i suggest you check Flacco’s playoff record and compare…for example, Manning’s is 9-11..Flacco’s is 9-4…Tom Brady’s record is 17-7, a product of 10 years of work..what do you get when you multiply Flacco’s record by 2???

He may not be the most humble guy, but in what universe is he an average QB? He just went 4-0 in the playoffs including 2 road games, 11 tds 0 ints, with a less than stifling defense. Has won at least one playoff game every year he’s been in the NFL. Beat Manning and Brady on the way to a Super Bowl victory. Sorry, but that is the definition of an elite QB.

“haha enjoy these next 6 years Ravens! you’ll be lucky to sniff the playoffs with this bum eating up all your cap space. If the Denver safety is back where hes supposed to be, you’re eliminated. But now you think you have your “savior” and just paid him WAY too much money. HA!”

His contract is cap friendly for the first three years….and im sorry did they take his salary from your pay check? why do you care?

You people burn me up with FLACCO shouldn’t make what the Ravens signed him. Come on for the love of life who really care. The Ravens Brass didn’t just think about this overnight. The whole season they’ve been thinking bout this. FLACCO wins like those other clowns y’all mention. And what makes it funny is he beat all of them too. FLACCO doesn’t have to threw for 5000 yards or pass 50 tds. He wins. And he’s not even 30.

What makes him arrogant? What in the world did Flacco do to all these whining fans? He did the same thing any good QB would do. He wanted the best contract and he got it. Suggs did it, Ray Rice did it, Haloti Ngata did it. No one was crying about it then. Ngata and Suggs are great players but they were NOT the reason we won 4 straight games in the playoffs. Ray Rice had 3 fumbles in the playoffs. Again, I get everybody may not like him, but to equate him with Brad Johnson or Trent Dilfer loudly illustrates your lack of football IQ. You think the Ravens, one of the most well run franchises in sports period, would mortgage their future on someone they’re unsure about? They see him every practice, and every game. And despite his bad games, they paid him handsomely. I don’t see the problem. It says a lot about how Ozzie and Steve Biscotti feel about what he’s done already, and what they expect him to do. As a fan, I believe they’re a tad more informed on Joe’s skill set than some media and fans doubling as G.M.’s.

For 5 years Baltimore has been saying how good Joe Flacco is..All we heard was..he is not elite. He is a Fluke. Yet, he has won a playoff game every year. He is in AFC Championship 3 out of 5 years. Flacco has most road playoff wins ever.

Baltimore bet on Flacco already and YOU HATERS LOST!

Now you want to double down and make Flacco to be a colossal bust rather than SB MVP???

Ok very classy..this guy is talking about his contract in a time when some of his fans/ravens are struggling to make ends meet. I think he is being a little insensitive by putting on the MrArrogant hat on..I mean this guy has been in the league for 4yrs but still cant talk like a pro..

No Joe you were not worth more, in fact you weren’t even worth the amount they were offering you last year. Entitled to more, yes, but worth it, absolutely not. The Ravens could have got a much better yield on their money, and their choosing that you are worth it does not make it so in actuality.

Joe will let his play do the talking dont hold it against him that we have a well rounded team that can run the ball so he is never forced to throw all the time (matt stafford). Please tell me the last time a qb in the league that passed or rushed for the most yards won a sb? Being clutch win you sbs not passing yards and certainly this is not going to change into a running qbs league any time soon.

considering that flacco worked his contract to maximize cap friendliness for the next 2 years i think the ravens will be in great shape. its a qb driven league and a what have you done for me lately league. the ilfer comparisons are crazy. those ravens were all about defense. the current ravens are transitioning to an offensive oriented team which is what the league is now. and since cam has been gone he is been spectacular. you build around your qb. and bigbenownsthenfl…you would love your team to be where we are now..defending a sb championship with your franchise qb under contract for 6 years…the only looking you will be doing is up at the ravens for years to come. go ravens

Answer: Mark Sanchez, Joe Flacco
Question: Who are the one two QBs to beat Manning and Brady in the same postseason

Moral of the story: Success does not mean greatness. Winning in a team game is not one person. Flacco has now decimated their chances at signing Ellerbe or Krueger going forward. 8-8 at best for the Ravens next year.

Good for him – he put his money where his mouth was and it paid off. Time will tell if this was a good deal – personally I think he got a little bit more than he was worth but coming off a Super Bowl that’s bound to happen.

I would caution Ravens fans who are proclaiming a Dynasty already. Locking up Flacco was a necessity for continued success but this team is going to shift in front of your eyes over the next couple years, and how they replace other guys who are leaving (Reed, Boldin, Ellerbee, etc.) will be more indicative of the trajectory of the team than resigning Flacco.

Answer: Mark Sanchez, Joe Flacco
Question: Who are the one two QBs to beat Manning and Brady in the same postseason

Moral of the story: Success does not mean greatness. Winning in a team game is not one person. Flacco has now decimated their chances at signing Ellerbe or Krueger going forward. 8-8 at best for the Ravens next year.
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Hey Einstein, his cap number is now $6.8 mil next year. Had he not signed this deal it would have been $20+ mil under the exclusive franchise tag or $14.6 mil under the non-exclusive tag. Their chances of retaining their UFAs this year just went up big-time…your point makes no sense. And quick sidenote: Sanchez had 383yds 3TDs and 1INT in those two games, Flacco had 571yds 6TDs and 0INTs.

Congrats Ravens’ fans. You have one of the few elite QBs in the NFL locked up for life. Don’t let the fantasy football geeks whizz in your cornflakes. They’d take Newton over Flacco because of whatever QBR means and because he’s good for 30 ff points a game. Meanwhile, that dude’s team goes 6-10 every year.

Now we need a Giants-Ravens SB next year in the cold Meadowlands to see who is this generation’s best clutch QB.

I would put Flacco at the bottom of the top 1/3. Honestly, he had a great post season but he is not a great quarterback-he is a B-B+ at best… He was playing like crap in the Denver game until the 4th quarter when the Bronco DBs decided to put their helmets on backwards… He doesn’t make mistakes but come on- how many balls does he just throw up for grabs…Bolden won more jump balls than a young, spry Wilt Chamberlin…who turned potential mistakes into big gains. The ball he hit Jones with (a WIDE open Jones) was underthrown-and the list goes on. I think it’s a monumental mistake..and as a Browns fan I couldn’t be happier-lol (Though I would take him in Cleveland in a heartbeat!!!-not for that coin though) Again, I think he is good-but not 129 mill good.

What do Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Matt Stafford, Aaron Rodgers and all the other 4500yd+ throwing QB’s have in common? A lack of run game and defense. Joe doesn’t put up the stats because he doesn’t need to. Teams win superbowls, not stats.

I love how all the crybabies are still complaining about this. The contract doesn’t even become a cap nuisance until year 4 which will allow them to restructure like every other top player in the league. Some of you really should get out of your mother’s basement more……

Oh and I have a little joke for all the Stiller fans here:

How many Steeler fans does it take to change a lightbulb?

Zero. They don’t change the lightbulb, they just talk about how great the last six were.

i still think flacco was high on painkillers or some substance that made him calm and relaxed during pressure situations. you can tell he is on some kind of relaxer drug. makes it easier to play in big games when you are doped up on things like that and dont feel the pressure. when he gets drug tested and fails and cant rely on this medication anymore, he will fall off the nfl planet

have any if you idiots claiming this ruins the ravens cap read any of the details. flacco just saved the ravens about 11-12 million in cap space this year. the ravens will have no problem signing the players they want. and please name a time when the ravens have gone after high priced free agents.

I see a lot of Joe haters wow if your talking reg season he is avg postseason I take him over any in the whole NFL and to put him in a class with Jamarcus Russell is bananas I bet when Flacco when another super bowl at least one of yall will commit suicide cause you won’t be able to take it

the cap killer who’s salary cap number is 6.8 this year and 14.8 next year. honestly do you people even know what you are talking about. and if you did you would know boldin is under contract for next year. and kruger is going to leave regardless because he is going to be offered a huge contract and we wish him well. and ellerbe is now priority one with reed and mckinney not far behind. also the ravens dont typically go after high priced free agents. they prefer to resign their own when they can. thats the ravens way and its earned them 5 straight playoff appearances and 2 super bowls in 12 years. go ravens

I said in the past that if the Steelers could two Super Bowls with Roethlisberger, then the Ravens most assuredly could win a Super Bowl with Flacco.
I also said that if Roethlisberger was able to attain a $100 million contract, then so could Flacco.
But I’ll also say this: Those who think that the Ultimate Team Sport is all about the quarterback, you people are truly missing the beauty of the NFL.
The Steelers of recent history never lost a postseason game when Willie Parker started in their backfield. The Steelers of recent history never lost a Super Bowl when Max Starks was in their O-line’s staring lineup.
Does that mean both Parker and Starks were totally responsible for the Steelers’ recent success? They are no more, or less, responsible than the quarterback.
The Ultimate Team Sport is all about Team Chemistry.

i bet his agent is just as shocked as everybody else is that the ravens made him the highest paid player in nfl history, ya gotta be kidding me, the ravens has just started a avalanche of star QB’s wanting more than flacco cause they know they are better than him

I’ve read that he is a cool, humble dude, but he sure comes across as a choad in the press. He was mediocre under his previous OCs, and made a great playoff run but not sure if he deserved that contract. I hope Caldwell got a nice raise too. He unleashed Joe as far as I can tell, and Boldin made him look good. Football is such a team sport, with coaches and supporting players making a huge impact. Maybe now the Ravens will be dealing with the same contract pressures the Steelers have been dealing with since 2006. You may hate the Pats like I do, but in the modern era they have done the best letting overpriced vets go and coaching up young talent. The Steelers haven’t done that. Will be interesting to see if the Ravens do, now that their players have negotiating capital. So far doesn’t seem that way.

Hypothetically speaking if that Denver DB bats that TD pass down and the Ravens end up losing, what is Mr. “I thought I was worth more” really signing for? My guess is closer to half of what he did sign for and closer to what he is really worth.

I am sure that the Ravens will regret this decision early into the season next year. The highest paid NFL player? really? Flacco is not now, and never will be an elite QB. He wasn’t worth the money at the start of the season, and he still is not worth it at the end, reguardless of a superbowl win. There is no I in team.

Flacco is really more of a goofball. He drove a crappy car to Olive Garden every night before he got drafted. Then after he got drafted he drove a crappy car to Olive Garden every night. It is fair to say he is mediocre at times, but the entire Ravens team can be mediocre at times. The losses at the end of the season were more do to the lack of motivation by the entire team. One thing is for sure….when the Ravens needs somebody to turn up big in the big game..That has been Joe Flacco for 5 years and counting.

Brady and Manning are better in the regular season if you want to beat the Miami Dolphins or the KC Chiefs. However, when you want to win in the Playoffs, I take Flacco over Brady or Manning. Neither of them can even throw the deep ball.

haha enjoy these next 6 years Ravens! you’ll be lucky to sniff the playoffs with this bum eating up all your cap space. If the Denver safety is back where hes supposed to be, you’re eliminated. But now you think you have your “savior” and just paid him WAY too much money. HA!

Actually Einstein the contract is cap friendly for the first few years. He will eventually restructure. IF the Denver safety was back… LOL woulda coulds shoulda. If only he did this or he fumbled or Lee Evans drops a ball. Yeah. Means nothing dude. Flacco stepped out of pocket, safety bit and Joe threw 70 yrds(not all QBs can do that) and made a play. Had to pay him. What was the logical alternative? Franchise and then they are in a mess. Low ball and CLE throws a ton of money and Joe leaves. 2 number ones but no QB. Dont sign at all. Educate yourself.